Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution

by David Rains Wallace

Mammals first evolved at about the same time as dinosaurs, and their story is perhaps the more fascinating of the two―in part because it is also our own story. In this literate and entertaining book, eminent naturalist David Rains Wallace brings the saga of ancient mammals to a general audience for the first time. Using artist Rudolph Zallinger's majestic The Age of Mammals mural at the Peabody Museum as a frame for his narrative, Wallace deftly moves over varied terrain―drawing from history, science, evolutionary theory, and art history―to present a lively account of fossil discoveries and an overview of what those discoveries have revealed about early mammals and their evolution.

In these pages we encounter towering mammoths, tiny horses, giant-clawed ground sloths, whales with legs, uintatheres, zhelestids, and other exotic extinct creatures as well as the scientists who discovered and wondered about their remains. We meet such memorable figures as Georges Cuvier, Richard Owen, Edward D. Cope, George Gaylord Simpson, and Stephen Jay Gould and learn of their heated disputes, from Cuvier's and Owen's fights with early evolutionists to present controversies over the Late Cretaceous mass extinction. Wallace's own lifelong interest in evolution is reflected in the book's evocative and engaging style and in the personal experiences he expertly weaves into the tale, providing an altogether expansive perspective on what Darwin described as the "grandeur" of evolution.

Genres: Science, Evolution, Palaeontology, Nonfiction, History, Biology, Natural History

259 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

David Rains Wallace is an author of geography and geology related books. His book, The Klamath Knot, was awarded the John Burroughs Medal in 1984.

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there have indeed been many parts of David Rains Wallace's Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution that have proven to be interesting and scientifically, intellectually stimulating, for the most part, reading this book has actually been a majorly frustrating exercise of trying to basically dig up (to unearth, with a bit of a pun most definitely intended here) the information I was looking for, and what the title Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution seemingly promises (namely detailed and scientific accounts on the evolution and development of mammals, and for and to me, in particular horses), searching for proverbial needles in a huge haystack of anecdotal snippets mostly regarding the major human movers and shakers of the theory of evolution (and minute descriptions not so much of ancient mammal species and their changes over geologic time, but more about the many personal vendettas and infightings of early evolutionists such as Cuvier, Darwin, Marsh, Cope et al). And while the latter could, I guess, and maybe even should be seen as essential and important to the history of science and palaeontology, it was and remains NOT AT ALL what I was looking for when I downloaded the Kindle version of Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution on my iPad.

Therefore and in my humble opinion, what the title of the book seemingly suggests and what David Rains Wallace's text actually contains and delivers, this is what I personally would label rather an epic failure theme and content wise, and if I were actually giving this tome an academic grade, I would have to say that Beasts of Eden: Dawn Horses, Walking Whales and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution is a rather sad and obvious case of the author not really all that much keeping to the title (the topic) he has himself chosen, but instead going off on tangents which while they do have to do with the theories of evolution and the history of the latter, do not really all that much provide enough relevant information on the actual mammal species that should be front and centre, that should be meticulously depicted and described (the so-called beasts of Eden of the title). And thus, only two stars for Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses, And Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution, as I personally have really not all that much enjoyed perusing the book and would actually NOT have even bothered to download it, had I known that the majority of David Rains Wallace's presented narrative was going to be about the personal animosities and often exceedingly nasty public conflicts and debates between early palaeontologists (and their specific takes on evolution as a theory) and not so much about the actual fossils discovered and found, the actual and bona fide enigmas of mammal evolution (and really, if one looks at the book cover of Beasts of Eden: Walking Whales, Dawn Horses and Other Enigmas of Mammal Evolution, at least to my eyes, it certainly does seem as though the main focus will be on the walking whales, the dawn horses, the various, often strange ungulates, the mammoths and not all that much on the scientists, the palaeontologists who discovered them, on their personalities, their private and public hatreds and annoyingly frustrating anger issues).

[Jeffrey E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you gone to a museum, looked at a painting, and then decided to write an incredibly well-researched book? Well, that's exactly what David Rains Wallace did.

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in prehistoric creatures, science, evolution, or even the history of North America. My only complaint is that there is so much information, and so many scientific names, one can get lost in the details. Nothing a quick flip back cannot fix.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was sort of disappointed with this one. It was good, it just wasn't as good as I'd hoped it would be. I'm really fascinated by early mammals, so I went in expecting to learn a lot about the dawn horses and walking whales in the title. Instead, the greater portion of the book was about the various scientists who discovered the fossils and their rivalries and competing theories. The other disappointment was the dearth of illustrations. The author takes his inspiration from the famous "Age of Mammals" mural at the Peabody Museum, so you would think that the mural would be reproduced in the book. Sadly, the full mural is never shown; portions of it are reprinted, but in black and white, which makes it look blurry and also makes it difficult to ascertain exactly which ancient mammals the author is referring to. I had hoped to get a better idea of what all of these mammals were, how they lived, etc. It may be that we just don't have enough information about them to write the kind of book I was hoping for.

[Michael Norwitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Advertised as a book about the enigmas of mammalian evolution, it is as much about the politics and feuds of early anthropology. Also, while it uses Rudolph Zallinger's The Age of Mammals mural at the Peabody Museum as inspiration and guide, there are almost no illustrations from the mural used through the book, which leaves the reader without an easy referent. This book is also highly technical in its use of zoological terms in ways which left me frequently baffled; a useful book but probably not one intended for the casual reader.

[Ushan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mammals appeared in the Triassic, having evolved from mammal-like reptiles with a reptilian skull but differentiated teeth. Most Mesozoic mammals were small and unspecialized, like the squirrels and rats of today's cities, though by the Cretaceous modern orders started appearing: we have a skull showing typical lagomorph circulation and another with typical ungulate teeth. After the dinosaurs died off, there was of course an explosion of mammalian ecological diversity, producing whales, horses, and different now-extinct Tertiary mammals, including carnivorous ungulates with meter-long skulls and enormous browsers that looked like a cross between the rhino and the giraffe. All of this was discovered from the fossils in the 19th and the 20th century, and confirmed by genetic analysis in the 21st century; the discoveries were the raw material for the evolutionary theories of George Gaylord Simpson (who wrote a novella, published posthumously, about a scientist thrown into the Cretaceous by a time machine accident) and his student Stephen Jay Gould.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat disjointed but spirited coverage of mammalian palaeontology and evolution, tied together in a rather laboured manner via Zallinger's famous mural at the Peabody museum. First third mostly covers the early days of palaeontology as a science, then it meanders into a discussion of punctuated equilibrium vs gradualist evolution, and ends up talking about the search for basal primate fossils. Lacking something if a coherent narrative either on a scientific or historical level, but it's enormously enthusiastic, knowledgable, and stuffed with fascinating vignettes. Could have done with some more focus (like Deborah cadbury's brilliant Terrible Lizard), or at the very least some more illustrations. The sheer number of scientific names that gets thrown at you is bewildering even for a relatively knowledgable reader, and it seems a bit ridiculous to write a book themed around a piece of artwork without actually reproducing that artwork in its entirety anywhere!

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

At the La Brea Tar Pits, I realized that I didn't quite have as firm a grasp on evolution as I thought, especially when I found out that there were only mammals at La Brea and I didn't know how we fit into the grand scheme of things. I remedied this immediately, thinking that I was purchasing a grand overview of evolutionary history. Instead, I had purchased the evolution of the theory of mammalian evolution. On the pedantic side, I didn't really keep up with all the names or events. This book appears to have been intended more for academics than the general public.

[Jerome · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not as advertised. I was hoping for something more like a field guide of prehistoric mammals, or at least some kind of walkthrough of what mammal life was like millions of years ago. However, despite everything on the cover and summary in the jacket flap, this book was really a book detailing the history of mammalian evolution theories. Wallace does a nice job detailing that history, but it isn't nearly as interesting as the animals themselves. It was a bit of a struggle to read through because it was not at all what I expected.

[Corinna Bechko · Rating 3 out of 5]

When you use a famous but little-seen mural as the structure on which you build your narrative it would help immensely to have that mural reproduced in your book. Instead we are left to wonder at the overall look and feel of the artwork, with only black and white reproductions of small areas scattered throughout the text. Still, there are many interesting things to learn here, mostly about the scientists who worked to uncover facts about these long-dead creatures, their wars over theory, and the animals themselves.

[David R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Something of a disappointment to me. While it started strongly and elegantly, and is tied together with a marvelous device, the book increasingly became a turgid narrative of the politics of mammalian paleontology. Too much inside baseball for me.

[Prithvi Shams · Rating 2 out of 5]

More of a history of squabbles between paleontologists than the actual science of evolution. The layman will be addled by the cornucopia of species names thrown about as if we're supposed to know what animals they refer to!

[Darren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed with the book, which focused much more on controversies involving the animals than the animals themselves.

[Dave Peticolas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history of mammal evolution and the scientific controversies its study has spawned. I enjoyed the book very much, but I would have liked more on the mammals and less on the controversies.

[Joe Stack · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book is about the evolution of mammals, it’s more interesting about the paleontologists who discovered and debated over the mammal skeletons. The sparing between some of the scientists seemed pugilistic (on words, not fists) at times. This is not just a history of mammals, but also of personalities and the ideas they argued over.

The book is chock full of information and quite a few of the issues explored were fascinating, such as, does time go back and forward; does evolution mean mammals get smaller or larger, punctuated equilibrium, and the relationship of reptiles & mammals with plants (how animals may have influenced plant evolution and also the reverse). Also interesting we’re the events that caused a major shift in paleontology, such as, Mendel’s study of genetics, tectonics, and the theories of mass extinction.

With this history of mammals and paleontologists, it is evident - at least to me - that paleontology is an attempt to assemble a huge puzzle. Pieces are found, and putting the pieces in place reveals that more pieces are missing. Paleontology can show what different mammals evolved from, but it “won’t necessarily show how they evolved.” Paleontology provides evidence for both the gradualist and the punctuationist.

I wanted more pictures or artist renderings. I think this book would be improved (and probably more expensive) with more visual aids. The descriptions and comparisons of the many mammals the author covered would been an enhancement. I found myself frequently scanning sections because of the litany of names and descriptions. I couldn’t always picture in my head what was being described.

For me, the epilogue was a stand out chapter and deserves at least a 4 star rating. It is a wonderful overview and summary that was clear and concise.

[Ray Quirolgico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author uses a clever structure to explain the natural history of mammalian evolution: a timeline mural of prehistoric mammals. But the brilliance of that premise gets complicated without a complete image of that mural and chapters that divide that timeline into segments of animals in the fossil record that seem to jump around in prehistory. Still a solid read about paleobiology and the people involved in digging into this evolutionary history.

[Emelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a very intellectually appealing book, but did not follow through with what I expected from the title. It focused more on the people and how they had spats and other things similar to that, while my main focus was on the animals themselves. It is interesting, yes, but only if you were more interested in the people than the work itself.

[Brittney Bower · Rating 1 out of 5]

I barely made it to chapter 1 before I got tired of the overly academic wording. Might pick this up later as it does provide me the data about animals long gone that I was looking for, as I wished to include real and made up animals in the books I am trying to write.